Method and system for scheduling a driver service provider for one or more third parties

ABSTRACT

This disclosure generally relates to a method and system for providing a ride for a third party rider at the request of a user ride requestor. In one embodiment, a driver device may be used to receive a ride request from one or more server computing devices for a third party rider. The driver device may receive information identifying the third party rider, including a password. Further, the driver device may transmit real time ride status information to the ride requestor directly or indirectly via the one or more server computing devices.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

This disclosure relates generally to a method and system for schedulinga driver service provider to provide a ride service for one or morethird parties. More specifically, the system disclosed herein determinesan optimal driver from a set of trusted drivers, and in response toreceiving a service request from a user, assigns a willing optimaldriver to provide a driving service for a third party. Further disclosedis a method for scheduling a driver service provider to provide a rideservice for a third party rider based on identification information ofthe third party transmitted to the driver service provider.

2. Description of the Related Art

As the public becomes more conscious of environmental concerns, andexperiences the financial strain of commuting, there is an increasingdemand for better solutions for transportation. In response, car poolsallow many people to ride together in one vehicle from one general areato another general area (i.e., from a residential district of a citywhere each rider lives to a downtown district of a city where each riderworks). Many cities have mass transportation systems, includingstreetcars, trains, light rail, buses, cabs, and other mass transport.

Each of these solutions has positives and negatives that make at leastsome potential users uncomfortable or with their needs unmet. Morerecently, ride sharing technology has been developed, which allows auser to request a ride for one or more people from one place to another.The user may transmit a request to one or more server computing devicesassociated with a number of drivers who are willing to provide a rideservice for the one or more people. For example, but not meant aslimiting, the user may transmit a request for a ride service totransport him/her and his/her roommate home from a party. In response, adriver associated with the ride service transports the user and theuser's roommate home from a party. The user pays a fee to the driverassociated with the ride service for the ride service.

Ride sharing is ubiquitous in many large cities in the United States.One limitation of conventional ride sharing technology is that ridesharing relies on the judgment and experience of the user to determinewhether or not a particular driver is trustworthy enough to safelytransport the user from one place to another. Thus, potential users wholack judgment and experience, or in other words, suffer from diminishedmental or physical capacity and who cannot properly identify a safedriver, are at risk when they are offered a ride in a conventional ridesharing situation. For example, but not meant as limiting, say a youngchild needs a ride to a piano lesson while the child's parents areworking. In a conventional ride share program, the young child must relyon his or her less informed judgment and experience to identify whetheror not his or her parents would approve of a driver who purports to bethe child's driver. In this scenario, parents would worry immeasurablyat the thought of their child getting into a vehicle with a driverunknown to them.

Other people with diminished judgment may be similarly at risk. Forexample, some elderly people with memory weakness or dementia, disabledindividuals with reduced communication or cognitive ability, youngchildren, sick people, intoxicated people, people under the influence ofnarcotics or other drugs, and others may not be able to discern anddistinguish a safe driver from an unsafe driver. Further, many of thesesame individuals lack either the capacity or the ability to request aride service.

Accordingly, it is one object of this disclosure to provide a system inwhich a driver may be scheduled to provide a ride service at the requestof a non-riding party for a third party rider. It is another object ofthis disclosure to provide a system whereby the driver may be scheduledto provide a ride service by a requesting user for a third party who isexperiencing reduced mental capacity or lacks the experience andjudgment to identify a safe driver and a safe ride service environment.It is another object of this disclosure to provide a system, which maynotify both a driver and a third party of a ride service requestrequested by the ride requestor. Finally, it is a further object of thisdisclosure to provide a method allowing a user to request a driver toprovide a ride service for one or more third party riders where thedriver is selected from a trusted pool of drivers.

SUMMARY

Disclosed herein is a method of providing a ride service for a thirdparty in response to a ride request from a user ride requestor. Themethod comprises receiving, by a driver device, a ride request for athird party rider. The method further comprises receiving, by a driverdevice, identification information for the third party rider where theidentification information includes a password. The method furthercomprises transmitting, by a driver device, real time ride statusinformation to the user ride requestor.

Further disclosed herein is a system for providing a ride service for athird party in response to a ride request from a user ride requestor.The system may include a driver device including a processor to receivea ride request for a third party rider. The processor included in thedriver device may further receive identification information for thethird party rider that includes a password. The processor included inthe driver device may also transmit real time ride status information tothe user ride requestor.

Also disclosed is a non-transitory computer-readable medium containinginstructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor toreceive a ride request made by a user ride requestor for a third partyrider. The processor is further caused to receive identificationinformation for the third party rider, the identification informationincluding a password. The processor may be further caused to transmitreal time ride status information to the user ride requestor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate various embodiments of the methodand system for scheduling a ride service for one or more third parties.

FIG. 1 illustrates flowchart for a method of scheduling a driver toprovide a ride service for one or more third party riders where thedriver is selected driver from a trusted pool of drivers.

FIG. 2 illustrates a graphical user interface allowing a driver toprovide driver information.

FIG. 3 illustrates a graphical user interface providing a driver with aschedule of upcoming ride services.

FIG. 4 illustrates a graphical user interface providing a driver withinformation related to upcoming rides.

FIG. 5 illustrates a graphical user interface showing an unscheduled newpickup request for a driver.

FIG. 6 illustrates a graphical user interface providing routeinformation and directions to a third party rider pickup location.

FIG. 7 illustrates a graphical user interface providing a driver withinformation about the third party rider.

FIG. 8 illustrates a graphical user interface providing a real-timestatus report of the driver's vehicle progress.

FIG. 9 illustrates a graphical user interface providing the driver withthe ability to notify the ride requestor that the ride is completed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, for purposes of explanation and notlimitation, specific techniques and embodiments are set forth, such asparticular techniques and configurations, in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the device disclosed herein. While the techniques andembodiments will primarily be described in context with the accompanyingdrawings, those skilled in the art will further appreciate that thetechniques and embodiments may also be practiced in other similardevices.

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments,examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whereverpossible, the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings torefer to the same or like parts. It is further noted that elementsdisclosed with respect to particular embodiments are not restricted toonly those embodiments in which they are described. For example, anelement described in reference to one embodiment or figure, may bealternatively included in another embodiment or figure regardless ofwhether or not those elements are shown or described in anotherembodiment or figure. In other words, elements in the figures may beinterchangeable between various embodiments disclosed herein, whethershown or not.

In general, this disclosure relates to a driver's interaction with asystem that is intended to allow a user ride requestor to schedule aride for a third party. It is noted the user ride requestor is the riderequestor, but not necessarily a ride service recipient. In oneembodiment, a user ride requestor may be a parent scheduling a ride fora child. Thus, the ride requestor may be considered to be the parentwhile the third party rider is a child. In this way, the parent mayschedule a ride provided by a driver for a child during which the safetyof the child may be protected. In a preferred embodiment, the thirdparty may be riding alone or with another third party and without theride requestor. It is also noted that any vulnerable person may beconsidered a third party rider and may benefit from a ride scheduledusing method and systems disclosed herein. Vulnerable persons mayinclude anyone with a reduced mental capacity or whose judgment or lifeexperience is less than what a reasonable person may require toadequately assess the safety of a particular situation, such as gettingin a car with an unknown driver. Examples of vulnerable persons includesome elderly people with memory weakness or dementia, disabledindividuals with reduced communication or cognitive ability, youngchildren, sick people, intoxicated people, people under the influence ofnarcotics or other drugs, and others who may not be able to distinguisha safe driver from an unsafe driver.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary method 100 of scheduling a driver toprovide a ride service for one or more third party riders where thedriver is selected driver from a trusted pool of drivers. The method isexecuted by a system to allow a user ride requestor to schedule a driverto provide a ride service for a third party, especially a vulnerablethird party. A driver may install a program, which executes method 100on a driver device. The driver device (and the user ride requestor whichwill be discussed later) may be a computing device. Examples ofcomputing devices include desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets,game consoles, personal computers, notebook computers, and any otherelectrical computing device with access to processing power sufficientto interact in a timely manner with a one or more server computingdevices computer. The user device associated with the user riderequestor may include software and hardware modules, sequences ofinstructions, routines, data structures, display interfaces, and othertypes of structures that execute computer operations. Further, hardwarecomponents may include a combination of Central Processing Units(“CPUs”), buses, volatile and non-volatile memory devices, storageunits, non-transitory computer-readable media, data processors,processing devices, control devices transmitters, receivers, antennas,transceivers, input devices, output devices, network interface devices,and other types of components that are apparent to those skilled in theart. These hardware components within the user device associated withthe user ride requestor may be used to execute the various applications,methods, or algorithms disclosed herein independent of other devicesdisclosed herein.

Method 100 may begin by confirming driver information at step 105.Driver information may include information about both the driver and thedriver's vehicle. For example, the driver may confirm the driver's name,the driver's driver license number and expiration date. The driver mayfurther confirm the make, model, year, color, and license plate numberfor the driver's vehicle. This information may be used to identify boththe driver and the driver's vehicle for a third party rider, as will bediscussed below.

In response to the driver confirming driver information at step 105, adriver device may receive a schedule of upcoming scheduled rides at step110. The schedule of upcoming rides may provide the driver withinformation about who will be riding, time to pickup time, time distanceto the pickup location, contact information for either the third partyrider or the ride requestor, directions, and may list each pickup anddropoff scheduled for a particular driving shift.

In response to selecting a next ride from the list of upcoming rides,the driver may be provided, by a display on the driver device, withadditional information about the next ride on the schedule at step 115.The additional information may include a map, information about who willbe riding, time to pickup time, time distance to the pickup location,contact information for either the third party rider or the riderequestor, directions, and may include a map indicator showing thevehicle's current location.

At step 120, the driver may be presented with an unscheduled pickuprequest. It should be noted that an unscheduled ride request may occurat any point in method 100 but is explained for exemplary purposes asoccurring before the driver has picked up a first rider. The new pickuprequest received by the driver may include information about othertrusted drivers in the area, a map of the location of the pickuprequest, pickup location information, dropoff location information,third party rider information, and may allow the driver to decline oraccept the ride request.

At this point, the driver may, at step 125, choose to accept or declinethe ride request based on the driver's preferences, the amount of timethe driver has before the next scheduled pickup, or any other criteriachosen by the driver. Should the driver choose to accept the unscheduledride request (step 125—Accept), the driver device will update the pickupschedule at step 135 accordingly. At step 140, the driver device mayreceive directions to the new next pickup location.

However, should the driver choose to decline the unscheduled riderequest (step 125—Decline), the driver device may return to theindication of the next scheduled ride provided at step 115 in step 130.The driver device may further be updated to receive and providedirections to the next scheduled pickup destination at step 140.

Once the driver receives directions to the next pickup destination atstep 140, the driver may select a route at step 145 that the driverdesires to take to the pickup destination. The driver device may provideinformation about a total trip distance, an estimated time of arrival tothe pickup location, an option to contact the third party or the riderequestor, and an option to begin the directions to the pickupdestination.

Once the driver device determines that the driver arrived at the pickuplocation at step 150, the driver device may receive and provide thedriver with information about the third party rider. For example, thedriver may receive information identifying the third party rider, thethird party rider's interests, trip information, and passwordinformation. Password information may be a password set by the user riderequestor and communicated to the driver and the third party rider. Thethird party rider may request the password from the driver to ensurethat the driver is indeed the driver the ride requestor intended todispatch to provide the third party rider a ride. The driver device mayalso include an option to contact the third party or the ride requestorand an option to start the trip.

At step 155, the driver device may transmit real time location data tothe user device associated with the user ride requestor or to one ormore one or more server computing devices computing devices associatedwith the ride service system. The real time location data may betransmitted directly to the user device associated with the user riderequestor or may be transmitted indirectly to the user device associatedwith the ride requestor via one or more one or more server computingdevices computing devices. The one or more one or more server computingdevices computing devices may include cloud computers, super computers,mainframe computers, application server computing devices, catalogserver computing devices, communications server computing devices,computing server computing devices, database server computing devices,file server computing devices, game server computing devices, homeserver computing devices, proxy server computing devices, stand-aloneserver computing devices, web server computing devices, combinations ofone or more of the foregoing examples, and any other computing devicethat may be used to execute all or some of method 100. The one or moreone or more server computing devices computing devices may includesoftware and hardware modules, sequences of instructions, routines, datastructures, display interfaces, and other types of structures thatexecute one or more server computing devices computer operations.Further, hardware components may include a combination of CentralProcessing Units (“CPUs”), buses, volatile and non-volatile memorydevices, storage units, non-transitory computer-readable media, dataprocessors, processing devices, control devices, transmitters,receivers, antennas, transceivers, input devices, output devices,network interface devices, and other types of components that areapparent to those skilled in the art. These hardware components withinone or more one or more server computing devices computing devices maybe used to execute the various methods or algorithms disclosed hereinand interface with the user device associated with the user riderequestor.

The real time location data provided to the one or more server computingdevices by the driver device may include information such as location ofthe vehicle on a map, the speed of the vehicle, the distance the vehicletravels, the distance the vehicle has yet to travel, and the estimatedtime of arrival. The driver device may further include options for thedriver to contact the ride requestor, or to provide a further rideupdate.

Once the driver device detects the vehicle arrived at the destinationlocation for the third party rider's ride at step 160, the driver devicemay receive or provide the driver with additional information about thedropoff conditions. The additional information may include a contactparty to whom custody of the third party rider should be entrusted, adescription of the contact party, an average speed of the ride, adistance covered by the ride, and a status indicator showing that thedestination has been reached. The display device may provide the driverwith an option to notify the ride requestor, the third party rider, andthe one or more server computing devices the ride is completed and thethird party rider safely arrived to the custody of the contact party.The display device may also contain an option for the driver to call theride requestor if additional information or concerns arise during thedropoff of the third party rider.

FIG. 2 illustrates a graphical user interface 200 allowing a driver toprovide driver information. Graphical user interface 200 includesindicator 205 indicating that graphical user interface 200 is solicitingconfirmation of correct driver information 210 for the driver. Driverinformation 210 may include the name of the driver, a picture of thedriver, the issuing authority for the driver's driver license (e.g.,state, country, province, etc.), and the driver's driver license number.Graphical user interface 200 may also include vehicle information.Vehicle information may include a picture or a virtual representation215 of the driver's vehicle; year, make, and model information 220;vehicle color information 225; and vehicle license plate information230. In graphical user interface 200, year, make, and model information220 identifies the driver's vehicle as a 2013 model year VolkswagenPassat. Vehicle color information 225 identifies the driver's vehicle asbeing blue in color while the vehicle license plate information 230identifies the license plate number as being a California issued licenseplate with the number 6ZIW592.

It is also noted that a picture or virtual representation 215 of thedriver's vehicle may also provide a visual representation of vehiclecolor information 225 by showing the vehicle in graphical user interface200 as being a blue colored vehicle. Picture or virtual representation215 of the driver's vehicle may also be shown in graphical userinterface 200 with a license plate having the correct vehicle licenseplate information 230. Once the driver confirms the information shown ingraphical user interface 200 is accurate, the driver may indicate theinformation was confirmed by interacting with interactive element 235.

FIG. 3 illustrates a graphical user interface 300 which provides adriver with a schedule of upcoming ride services. Graphical userinterface 300 includes an indicator 305 indicating that graphical userinterface 300 is displaying a list of upcoming rides to be provided bythe driver. Graphical user interface 300 further includes an informationbox 310 providing information about the driver's next pickup. Forexample, information box 310 may show the amount of time before thedriver's next pickup, a picture or virtual representation of the thirdparty rider, a pickup time, a distance in time to the next pickuplocation, an address of the pickup, user ride requestor commentsprovided for the driver by the ride requestor, and other relevantinformation to the ride. Information box 310 may also provideinteractive elements such as interactive element 315 and interactiveelement 320. Interactive element 315 may allow a driver to contact thethird party rider or the user ride requestor by text message ortelephone call. Interactive element 320 may provide a driver withdirections to the pickup location.

Graphical user interface 300 lists a number of pickup and dropoff eventsfor the driver for a particular period of time (a day, a shift, etc.).The list of pickup and dropoff events includes a pickup event 325, adropoff event 330, a pickup event 335, and a dropoff event 340. Each ofpickup and dropoff events 325-340 in the list may include informationincluding an indicator as to whether or not the event is a pickup or adrop off, a picture or a visual representation of the third party rider,an address for the pickup or dropoff, and a time for the pickup ordropoff event to be performed. In response to the driver selectinginformation box 310, the driver may be provided with graphical userinterface 400 shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 illustrates a graphical user interface 400, which provides adriver with information related to upcoming rides, as shown by indicator405. Graphical user interface 400 may further include an information box410, which provides information about the next ride, includinginformation about the amount of time before the next third party riderpickup is to occur, a map that includes an indicator showing the currentlocation of the driver's vehicle, an indicator showing that the ride isa pickup, a picture or visual representation of the third party rider, atime by which the third party rider is to be picked up, and a distancein time to the third party rider's pickup location.

Graphical user interface 400 may further include pickup information 415,which includes an address for the pickup and comments provided by theuser ride requestor. Graphical user interface 400 further providesinteractive elements such as interactive element 420 and interactiveelement 425. Interactive element 420 may allow a driver to contact thethird party rider or the user ride requestor by text message ortelephone call. Interactive element 425 may provide a driver withdirections to the pickup location.

FIG. 5 illustrates a graphical user interface 500 showing an unschedulednew pickup request for a driver. As previously mentioned, a new pickuprequest can occur at any time providing the driver with an opportunityto accept or decline the new pickup request. When an unscheduled pickuprequest occurs, a driver may be notified by graphical user interface500, which includes an indicator 505 indicating that a new pickuprequest has been created by a user ride requestor. Graphical userinterface 500 may further include a map 510 which includes an indicator515 indicating a pickup location for the new pickup request. Map 510 mayfurther include indicators 520 a, 520 b, and 520 c showing other trusteddrivers in the area who may be willing to accept the new pickup request.The driver may also be identified on the map as one of indicators 520 a,520 b, and 520 c.

Graphical user interface 500 may further include an information box 525providing additional information about the new pickup request. Theadditional information may include a time for the pickup (or ASAP—assoon as possible), an estimated time of arrival for the driver, a pickupaddress for the new pickup request, a dropoff address for the new pickuprequest, map identifiers (not shown on map 510 in FIG. 5) representingthe pickup location and the dropoff location for the new pickup request,a picture or visual representation of the third party rider, anestimated duration for the ride, a name of the third party rider, andother pertinent information. Graphical user interface 500 furtherprovides interactive elements such as interactive element 530 andinteractive element 535. Interactive element 530 may allow a driver todecline the new pickup request based on the provided information.Interactive element 535 may allow a driver to accept the new pickuprequest.

Should the driver accept the new pickup request, the driver's schedule,shown in graphical user interface 300 of FIG. 3, may be updated toreflect the acceptance of the new pickup request and the driver'sschedule may be further updated to reflect the new pickup in theschedule.

FIG. 6 illustrates a graphical user interface 600 providing routeinformation and directions to a third party rider pickup location. Afterthe driver confirms the next pickup in the driver's schedule and whetheror not a new pickup request is accepted or declined, the driver's devicemay provide the driver with one or more routes to the next pickuplocation, which are selectable by the driver. For example, graphicaluser interface 600 may include an indicator 605 instructing the driverto choose one of the provided routes as a preferred route to the nextpickup location. A map 610 shown in graphical user interface 600 mayinclude any number of routes. For the purpose of explanation, however,three routes are shown in graphical user interface 600: route 615, asecond route 620, and a third route 625. As shown in FIG. 6, the driverselected second route 620 as the preferred route to travel to the nextpickup location.

Graphical user interface 600 may further include an information box 630,which provides information about the selected second route 620. Forexample, information box 630 may include an estimated time to the pickuplocation, an estimated distance to the pickup location, the estimatedtotal distance for the trip, and an estimated total duration for thetrip. Graphical user interface 600 further provides interactive elementssuch as interactive element 635 and interactive element 640. Interactiveelement 635 may allow a driver to contact the third party rider or theuser ride requestor by text message or telephone call. Interactiveelement 640 may allow a driver to accept the selected route and beginproviding routing information to the driver's next pickup location.

FIG. 7 illustrates a graphical user interface 700, which provides adriver with information about the third party rider. When a driverarrives at the next pickup location, graphical user interface 700 may beupdated with an indicator 705 indicating that the pickup location isreached. Graphical user interface may display a map 710 and aninformation box 715. Information box 715 may include a variety ofinformation about the third party rider. Information box may includepassword information 720. Password information may be a password set bythe user ride requestor and communicated to the driver via informationbox 715 and the third party rider. The third party rider may request theprovided password from the driver to ensure the driver is indeed thedriver the user ride requestor intended to dispatch to provide the thirdparty rider a ride.

Information box 715 may further include a picture or virtualrepresentation of the third party rider for whom the ride has beenscheduled, and may include the name of the third party rider.Information box 715 may further include interest information 725, whichprovides the driver with information about the third party rider'sinterests to facilitate conversation between the driver and the thirdparty rider. Interest information 725 may include medical information(allergies, medical conditions, medical equipment that should be withthe third party rider, etc.) and/or instructions for the driver such asa request to help the third party rider with luggage or a particularbag. Interest information 725 may include other information about songsthe third party rider may enjoy, radio stations preferred by the thirdparty rider, audiobooks the third party rider might enjoy, and any otherinformation that would serve to make the third party rider morecomfortable during the ride.

Graphical user interface 730 may further include an information box 730providing information concerning the amount of time required to travelto a start point for the ride, and a distance to the start point for theride. Graphical user interface may further provide an information box735 providing information concerning the amount of time required tocomplete a trip (based on the third party rider's destination), and adistance to the destination point of the third party rider's ride.Finally, graphical user interface may include interactive elements suchas interactive element 740 and interactive element 745. Interactiveelement 740 may allow a driver to contact the third party rider or theuser ride requestor by text message or telephone call. Interactiveelement 745 may allow a driver to indicate that the third party rider ispicked up and the trip commences.

FIG. 8 illustrates a graphical user interface 800 providing a real-timestatus report of the driver's vehicle progress. Graphical user interface800 includes an indicator 805 that indicates the driver is currentlyproviding a trip for a third party rider named “Brian.” Indicator 805may include a picture or visual representation of Brian. Graphical userinterface 800 further includes a map 810 which also includes anindicator 815 representative of a current location of a driver'svehicle. Graphical user interface 800 may include an information box 820which provides information about the speed of the vehicle, the distanceto the destination, the distance traveled, and the estimated time ofarrival at the destination location for the third party rider. Graphicaluser interface 800 further provides interactive elements such asinteractive element 825 and interactive element 830. Interactive element825 may allow a driver to contact the third party rider or the user riderequestor by text message or telephone call. Interactive element 830 mayallow a driver to provide a further ride update.

Information shown in graphical user interface 800 may be transmitted inreal time to other devices beginning with the driver's interaction withinteractive element 745 shown in FIG. 7. Transmitted information mayinclude, for example, a current location of the vehicle providing theride for the third party rider, a speed of the vehicle, a distance thevehicle has traveled, a distance the vehicle has yet to travel, and anestimated time of arrival. Other devices may include a user deviceassociated with the user ride requestor and one or more server computingdevices computing device such that real time information about status ofthe ride and the third party rider may be practically instantaneouslyavailable to the user ride requestor, to the driver's supervisor or tothe company employing the driver.

FIG. 9 illustrates a graphical user interface 900, which provides thedriver with the ability to notify the ride requestor the ride iscomplete. Graphical user interface 900 includes an indicator 905indicating to the driver the vehicle arrived at the destination for thethird party rider. Graphical user interface 900 may further include amap 910 on which is overlaid an information box 915, which providesadditional dropoff information. Additional dropoff information mayinclude information about a contact party to whom custody of the thirdparty rider should be entrusted, a description of the contact party, anaverage speed of the ride, a distance covered by the ride, and a statusindicator showing the destination is reached.

Graphical user interface 900 may provide the driver with an interactiveelement 930 which, when activated, transmits a real time notification tothe ride requestor, the third party rider, and the one or more servercomputing devices computing device that the ride has been completed andthe third party rider has safely been delivered to the custody of thecontact party. In one embodiment, graphical user interface 900 may alertthe driver when the driver is not within a certain distance from anidentified pickup or dropoff location. For example, if the driver devicedetermines that the vehicle is not within 100 meters of the identifiedpickup or dropoff location based on received GPS information, the driverdevice may prohibit the driver from indicating that the ride has beencompleted. Graphical user interface 900 may also contain an interactiveelement 935 which, when activated, allows the driver to call or send atext message to the ride requestor if additional information or concernsarise during the dropoff of the third party rider. Once the third partyrider is safely delivered, the driver may proceed to the next riderequest on the schedule shown in graphical user interface 300, shown inFIG. 3 and repeat the foregoing process for the next third party rider.

Finally, in some embodiments, graphical user interfaces 200-900 mayinclude a picture or a virtual representation of a third party rider whois to be picked up by the driver such that the driver may positivelyidentify the third party rider using the picture or the virtualrepresentation of the third party rider. Identifying the third partyrider by a visual likeness ensures that the correct third party rider isthe third party rider who has been picked up by the driver. Further, inthe event that the third party rider is a “no show” for the scheduledride service, the driver device may transmit a notification to a ridescheduler or to the server indicating that the third party rider has notarrived at the pickup location at the scheduled time. Should the riderequestor cancel the ride for any reason, the driver may also beinformed via a notification displayed on the driver device.

In further exemplary embodiments, a driver may, for example, input notesinto the driver device for the driver's future reference. For example,the driver may take a picture of a particular pickup location anddropoff location for future reference. The driver may also take notes,recording information about the third party rider's hobbies, likes,dislikes, and other information that can improve third party riderexperience in the future. These notes may also be transmitted from thedriver device to the server device such that if other drivers providesimilar rides for the third party rider in the future, these otherdrivers may access the recorded notes and enhance the experience for thethird party rider.

The foregoing description has been presented for purposes ofillustration. It is not exhaustive and does not limit the system to theprecise forms or embodiments disclosed. Modifications and adaptationsare apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of thespecification and practice of the disclosed embodiments. For example,components described herein may be removed and other components addedwithout departing from the scope or spirit of the embodiments disclosedherein or the appended claims.

Other embodiments are apparent to those skilled in the art fromconsideration of the specification and practice of the disclosuredisclosed herein. It is intended the specification and examples areconsidered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of theinvention being indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of providing a ride service for a thirdparty in response to a ride request from a user ride requestor,comprising: receiving, by a driver device, a wireless ride request for athird party rider; receiving, by the driver device, identificationinformation for the third party rider, the identification informationincluding a password set by the user ride requestor and which iscommunicated to a driver by the driver device and to the third partyrider; transmitting, by driver device, real time ride status informationto the user ride requestor; and receiving, by the driver device and inresponse to reaching a dropoff location requested by the user riderequestor for the third party rider, dropoff information for the thirdparty rider.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the identificationinformation includes a picture of the third party rider.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein the identification information includes a visualrepresentation of the third party rider.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the identification information includes the name of the thirdparty rider.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the identificationinformation includes interest information for the third party rider. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein the identification information includescomments provided by the user ride requestor to the driver for the thirdparty rider.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the real time ride statusinformation includes a current location of a vehicle associated with thedriver.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the real time ride statusinformation includes a current speed of a vehicle associated with thedriver.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the real time ride statusinformation includes an estimated time of arrival for a vehicleassociated with the driver at a dropoff location requested by the userride requestor for the third party rider.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the dropoff information for the third party rider includes oneor more of a name of a dropoff contact, a description of the likeness ofthe dropoff contact, and a particular location for the dropoff at thedropoff location.
 11. A system for providing a ride service for a thirdparty in response to a ride request from a user ride requestor,comprising: a driver device, including a processor to: receive awireless ride request for a third party rider; receive identificationinformation for the third party rider, the identification informationincluding a password set by the user ride requestor and which iscommunicated to a driver by the driver device and to the third partyrider; transmit real time ride status information to the user riderequestor; and receive, in response to reaching a dropoff locationrequested by the user ride requestor for the third party rider, dropoffinformation for the third party rider.
 12. The system of claim 11,wherein the wherein the identification information includes a picture ofthe third party rider.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein theidentification information includes a visual representation of the thirdparty rider.
 14. The system of claim 11, wherein the real time ridestatus information includes a current location of a vehicle associatedwith the driver.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumcontaining instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause theprocessor to: receive a wireless ride request made by a user riderequestor for a third party rider; receive identification informationfor the third party rider, the identification information including apassword set by the user ride requestor and which is communicated to adriver by the driver device and to the third party rider; transmit realtime ride status information to the user ride requestor, and receive, inresponse to reaching a dropoff location requested by the user riderequestor for the third party rider, dropoff information for the thirdparty rider.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim15, wherein the identification information includes a picture of thethird party rider.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 15, wherein the real time ride status information includes acurrent location of a vehicle associated with the driver.